How to Cook Beef Brisket

Beef brisket is known to be the toughest kind of beef cut. It is taken from a section of the cow’s breast situated in between its front legs. But cooking beef brisket properly will result to a very tasty and tender meat. This kind of beef cut is tastier when smoked, poached, or braised.

Beef Brisket Selection

Beef brisket has three cuts available to choose from – the whole brisket, the flat cut, and the point cut. The whole brisket is about 10 pounds in weight. Both the flat cut and the point cut weighs at about 4 to 5 pounds each.

The point cut has more fat in it compared to the flat cut. Shredding is good for point cuts while slicing is good for flat cuts. You will notice that most beef briskets found in the supermarkets are already trimmed from fats. It is good to choose the beef brisket that has more fat to ensure a more tender and juicier meat.

Low and Slow

In cooking beef brisket, the rule of thumb is to cook low and slow. Always maintain a low temperature and give a longer cooking time for beef brisket to attain a well done result with the meat.

Cooking beef brisket in a low and slow manner will allow the inside of the meat to be cooked well without the fear of overcooking the outside of the meat. Low cooking will break down the connective tissues and fat of the beef brisket, thus resulting to a tender and juicy meat.

The Moist Heat Approach

The moist heat approach like braising is the usual way of cooking beef brisket. First, you have to fry the beef brisket until brown. Then simmer it slowly over a low temperature heat with a small amount of water. Make sure to use a tightly covered pan so that the moisture is locked in. Using a crock pot is the best thus preventing the brisket to be dried out until it is cooked.

Braising beef brisket can be done in the oven or on the stove.

The Dry Heat Approach

This is cooking beef brisket through barbecuing or smoke cooking wherein any liquid is not present around the meat. Using a smoke cooker is a good way to do it and it should have a steady temperature of 225 degrees Fahrenheit. And a good 10 hours or more will be spend in cooking beef brisket this way.

Barbecued beef brisket is a favorite for lots of people.

Carving Beef Brisket

To ensure that the beef brisket is really tender when served, you need to do one more thing and that is carving or in other words, slicing. It is very important to slice across the grain of the beef brisket to avoid chewing the stringy and long fibers of the meat.